Why The Hero Of The X-Men Movie Logan Is Actually A Woman!

Laura in Logan emerges as the kickass superhero, holding her own in the midst of seasoned older actors.

Trying to fit myself into the crowded Delhi Metro at peak hours, after a long day at work, I received a call from my brother, asking me to watch the recently released Wolverine movie, Logan. Though tired and sleepy, I said yes to the offer for two reasons – one, it was the last movie of Wolverine (so I had heard somewhere) and two, I didn’t want to disappoint my brother, who I thought, wanted to treat his wife and me, seemingly the two most important women in his life, on International Women’s Day. However, I soon came to know that the latter was just my assumption and it was a matter of sheer coincidence!

Coming to my experience with the movie, it disappointed me for the most part, and really gave me a huge headache for the rest of the night. I realized that the idea of watching a Hollywood action and adventure, fiction and fantasy, or drama and science movie, on a weekday-after-work isn’t really that great.

I also realize that my ‘X-men IQ’ is really low; however, I was happy that it was better than my sister-in-law’s, who was trying hard to make sense out of the unnecessary, senseless complications that are included in most Hollywood superhero movies. Deciphering some X-men movies, with a lot of future in the past and past in the future, some characters dead and some born, and so many other complications, I feel so lost right now!

Interestingly, while I was reading about this movie, I read a lot of reviews by people who have been a fan of Wolverine, and rave about how well he performed in the last movie of its type, with very little buzz around little Laura’s performance. Laura is Wolverine’s daughter and the lead child actress in the movie. She displays some wonderful leadership traits, and I was blown away to see a girl of her age playing such role so smoothly.

With all due respect to Wolverine, to me, the ‘hero of the movie’ is Laura – the dauntless and reckless Laura. So here we go.

1. Believe in your strength at all times, especially when you need it the most

Wolverine doesn’t accept that Laura is a mutant. So he chooses to save Charles rather than her, and leaves her in his rubbish apartment all by herself, on being attacked by a group of 5-10 super armed men. These armed people go inside, hoping to pick up the girl of 12, handily. Laura is watching them entering through the TV-camera, showing no expressions of fear or worries of any sort.

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She continues to eat her food, and just gives a very strong, confident look when these men emerge in front of her. But she doesn’t really move – that was the level of her confidence on her ability, on her powers, on her strength.

Scene fades!

The next scene starts with Laura holding the head of one of the military men in her hands and walking out of the apartment like a lioness.

2. Let your actions speak

Surprisingly, Laura has no dialogue in the movie except toward the very end when she talks with her dad. The very reason why Laura remains silent is because she has been diligently observing the new world which was different from where she was brought up. She kept herself silent, almost leaving an impression that she was dumb, and spoke only through her actions for most of the movie.

3. Real-time judgement

Wolverine shows Laura a metallic bullet which was responsible for the bad health of all mutants (something from the last series). Laura has never used a bullet before, her steel jaws work well for her. In the very last scene, when Wolverine is attacked by the artificially created Wolverine-replica mutant, Laura uses that metallic bullet in the revolver to shoot the latter’s brain. That scene defines the movie in a way that no other does. Laura has not only made real time judgement on what should be the best way to attack her enemy but also has shown tremendous courage in fighting with an X-man of her father’s age.

Wolverine and the other cast members were at their best, but the child actress has pushed the bar for many actors really high for their upcoming breaks. Hoping to see more movies in a man’s world with women superheroes!

Disclaimer – No offence to people who have been fan of Wolverine or other superheroes!

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Top image via movie promos

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